USA Basketball - A point to prove (789 hits)
Category: SportsRating: 0.5 on 5 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Kellio (View user info) at 2004-08-02 07:49:26 EDT
Well the Olympics are almost upon us again, but to be quite honest not many of the sports involved appeal to me. However I LOVE basketball and can't wait to see various countries slug it out, especially since they all now know how feasible it is that the USA won't necessarily take out the gold this time.
Flash back a couple of years to the world basketball championships, where the US finished sixth (I may be wrong on this, but I'm pretty sure it was sixth.). No one saw it coming, especially the USA basketball team who thought they had it in the bag before they had even played a single game. One very bruised ego later, and the entire basketball was shocked. Not only had they lost some games, but they hadn't even placed in the top three!
But that's what you get for being complacent. Ever since the US were allowed to use professionals, the USA had dominated all comers with their various incarnations of the Dream Team. But then something surprising happened, they lost a game, and then another and before you know it POW!!! USA Basketball is scarred for life!
"How could we lose, we're the USA!" Let me tell you how, for one you have to play as a team. Oh and you have to practice as well. Team USA did neither of those, with their training being incredibly lax as players took to the court and tried to pull off fancy moves and go one on one instead of playing a team game. Their was a time when the talent that team USA had was so superior to the rest of the world that they could play this way and still win, but that time is over with the rest of the world catching up. Every year more and more international players are being drafted into the league, with names such as Dirk Nowitzki, Yao Ming and Peja Stojakovic representing some of the best the NBA has to offer. But with so many international players now playing in the NBA, it gives the USA a great way to check out what they'll be going up against.
Somehow I don't think that this olympics will be a repeat of the world championships. Their poor result from then has stoked the fire in the belly of USA Basketball. The team which once consisted of showboating gloryhogs is no more. Team USA now have a point to prove and this time the team have a game plan and are practicing. I don't expect them to lose a game in this olympics, but then again if they had taken the world championships seriously, they wouldn't have lost then either.
User Reviews
Submitted by Kellio (user info) at 2004-08-23 04:59:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Man I really dropped the ball on this one. I hereby renounce this post! You'd think that USA basketball would have gotten it's shit together, but I guess not. Oh well, at least the US women's team is unbeaten at this olympics.
Submitted by Mr._Pantyboy_Toiletpaper (user info) at 2004-08-03 12:19:10 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Who fucking cares.
Submitted by Envenom (user info) at 2004-08-02 10:19:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I hope once we've got the game put away Lebron turns and bounces the ball off Boozer's head that worthless low life theaving dirty rat scoundrel double crossing piece of shit.
Submitted by runninginplace (user info) at 2004-08-02 10:01:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
practice, etc....will help. also having the best players play instead of not going because of "security concerns" would help.
Submitted by Judoka (user info) at 2004-08-02 07:54:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
You are right, it was sixth. Also a national disgrace.
The fact that Larry Brown is coaching gives me hope.